Interim mayor wins in Lockport

Wednesday

Nov 7, 2012 at 1:15 AM

A familiar face will carry on as Lockport mayor, town voters decided Tuesday.In addition, voters elected one member to the Town Council and sent to others into a Dec. 8 runoff.Interim Mayor Paul Champagne won a four-year term that starts in January. He replaces three-term mayor Richard Champagne, who lost his battle with cancer in August.

Chance RyanStaff Writer

A familiar face will carry on as Lockport mayor, town voters decided Tuesday.In addition, voters elected one member to the Town Council and sent to others into a Dec. 8 runoff.Interim Mayor Paul Champagne won a four-year term that starts in January. He replaces three-term mayor Richard Champagne, who lost his battle with cancer in August.Champagne defeated Bruce Wilson, 93 percent to 7 percent, or 812 votes to 64 votes, according to complete but unofficial results from the Secretary of State’s Office. Both men are Republicans.Voter turnout in the mayoral election was about 58 percent.Meanwhile, Sharon Robichaux Guidry will face Ralph Sapia in a Dec. 8 runoff for the vacant Division B seat on the Town Council.Guidry received 47 percent (411 votes) to Sapia’s 35 percent (302 votes) and Eddie Guidroz Jr.’s 18 percent (159 votes), according complete but to unofficial results.The voter turnout in that race was about 57 percent. Incumbent Councilman Rodney Hartman, a Republican, retained his Division D council seat, securing 73 percent to 27 percent of the votes cast, or 629 to 236, against challenger Hamilton Guidroz, a Democrat.The voter turnout in that race was about 57 percent.Besides serving as interim mayor, Champagne, 62, was a council member for 20 years. He is also a project manager at Bollinger Shipyards and has lived in Lockport since 1975. “I am very humbled and very honored that the people of Lockport elected me” he said.He said leaks in sewer lines are the biggest issue facing Lockport today.As interim mayor, Champagne oversaw negotiations with the state Department of Environment Quality to secure a $4 million low-interest loan to pay for needed improvements.Champagne said he will work to attract more business to Lockport and wants to find a tenant for the former Rouses grocery.